Two women and four men shared the 20,000-kronor prize ($3,100) for remaining on 8.25-foot-tall blocks of ice during the 48-hour contest, which ended Saturday.

Competitors said the worst part of the competition was not the cold — temperatures dipped below -18 F — but the monotony, even though they were allowed to come down for 10-minute toilet breaks every other hour.

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Organizer Annica Andersson said the contest has been held annually for a dozen years, and was brought to the Swedish town of Vilhelmnina by a local resident who had participated in a similar competition in Russia.

Valentine’s Day

sewage tour

NEW YORK (AP) — Lovers of the unusual are getting another chance to impress their Valentine this year.

The Department of Environmental Protection is once again offering Valentine’s Day tours of the Newtown Creek sewage treatment plant in Greenpoint, Brooklyn.

The DEP says it’s offering three tours this year due to “overwhelming demand.”

Highlights include the plant’s giant, egg-shaped digesters. They break down noxious waste into harmless sludge and gas.

During last year’s tour, the plant’s gung-ho superintendent warned the visitors that a digester egg was about to emit a foul odor. It didn’t disappoint.

Tweet-free Lent

A Pittsburgh pastor is all a Twitter with a new idea for a Lenten fast: No social media.

KDKA-TV reports the Rev. William Curtis has asked members of his church to give up social media sites like Facebook and Twitter for Lent, which began Wednesday and runs through Easter.

Curtis says he’s not even asking his members for a full 40-day fast, just three or four days.

And, Curtis confesses, “It’s going to be hard for me because I practically live on Twitter.”

The pastor doesn’t want to police his congregation’s compliance, but confesses he might have a peek on the Internet now and then to see how many of his members are trying to cut back on social media, saying “Let’s say I might every now and then go on and just see.”